Of the 1,200 redundancies announced in 2013, about half have already left the company or have transitioned into Ford's product development and customer service departments.

Another 120 will stay on temporarily for the plant decommissioning process beyond October.

The vast sites in Geelong and Melbourne's north are slated for sale, but their future use is unknown, as yet.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Dave Smith said the closure would have a flow-on effect.

"This is not just about Ford, it's about the automotive industry and it's estimated that for every Ford worker there's between about four and seven workers out there in the component industries and support industries," he said.

Industry 'in transition', Ford says

Ford Australia chief executive Graeme Whickman said it was an honour to be in Broadmeadows to watch the last Falcon XR6 come down the line.

He said the company's legacy would live on despite the end of manufacturing in Australia.

"As the industry transitions, we expect to become the country's largest auto employer by 2018," he said.

"We're moving towards innovation and design and we'll have over 1,100 researchers and designers working on some pretty cool ideas."

He said the final few cars would not be for sale and would be put on display.

However, the last saleable cars were due to be auctioned, with proceeds going to schools in Geelong and Broadmeadows.

About Me

New Trier High School, Winnetka Illinois.... cancer survivor...NYU Grad School of Film and TV...Film Editor....Training Audio/Visual Writer for US Coast Guard...audio visual producer and public relations writer..had some pretty awful bumps along the way (haven't we all) --glad to still be around and in touch with so many friends from the past